SACPA to discuss future of bison in area

A historic treaty to bring back bison was signed in 2014 in Montana by First Nations and tribes on both sides of the Canada-United States border.

The Northern Tribes Buffalo Treaty — the first of its kind in 150 years — is meant to work to establish inter-tribal alliances for the restoration of bison on reserves or co-managed lands within the U.S. and Canada.

On Thursday, during the regular weekly Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs session, speaker Leroy Little Bear will present “Will Bison once again be Roaming Southern Alberta and Northern Montana?”

Renowned as an international scholar, speaker and leader, Little Bear is a pioneer in the field of Indigenous education and the winner of the 2017 University of Lethbridge Speaker Research Award.

He was a founder of the University’s Department of Native American Studies, one of the first such departments in Canada, and he now serves as the Special Assistant to the President, playing an integral role in breaking boundaries between traditional Indigenous and western sciences,

Little Bear will address the many issues related to reintroduction of bison to this area. He will also explain the cultural importance that bison play in the lives of First Nations peoples.

Thursday’s SACPA session takes place from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Country Kitchen Catering.